Vetus Hostillis Exmortis
Vetus Hostillis Exmortis was a book written by Xavier Rehayem to aid the protagonist. It tells the story behind the book of Exmortis, as well as how to defeat the Exmortis. However, it held no such information on Lord Vlaew. Vetus Hostillis Exmortis Xavier Rehayem C. 1902 My Dear Reader, Many years have passed since I cast my thoughts to the memories of my demons. For my story is one of captive torment. Years of tortured labor to stay one step ahead of the constant threat of lunacy. Indeed I pain to recall the torment endured for those years around the end of my young daughter Gwen's life. For she was lost to my blade - and it pains me deeply however as much as my hand was forced by 'them'. My captors - yes - the demons that haunted my house. The possession of my poor daughter - they turned her into a puppet. Held her soul for ransom in return for the translation of the text titled "The Book of Exmortis". Of course I did as they wanted, however I fear that such work will come with dire consequences - if not for I, then certainly for mankind. When they returned her to me for a mere minute only to take her away from me again, I realized that Gwen was gone and never to return. I suppose in a way, I wasn't killing my daughter - I was killing the demons that took hold of her. I digress. My purpose for penning this text is not to alleviate the pained memories I carry with me, nor is it to gain unwarranted sympathy for my eternal plight. I ultimately utilized this medium to serve a dire warning to whatever years of humanity we as a species have left on this Earth. An unspeakable evil resides in the hills not half a day's trek from my current abode here in Lochear Fields. I have witnessed first hand the cruelty of the entities I have come to know as the Exmortis. I can only further elaborate on the threat these beings pose upon humanity, once I have summarized the nature of the beast. To understand the history of one's enemy is to be one step closer to salvation. The following is a summation of "The Book of Exmortis". The Ancient Dominion War In a time before life and light, corporeal beings did roam our lands ruling over those smaller and less powerful sentients. These fiends of great power and might were many in numbers, but their greed to exert their dominion over others saw these lands bathed in the permanent blood-stained hue of war. Many Ancients and lesser sentients were slaughtered in the resulting conflicts - eventually, only three ruling Ancients remained. The Merciless Kfafta Lord Kfafta held rule over a vast army of sentients, having single-handedly delivered the death blow to the majority of opposing Ancients. His power was only exceeded by his hunger for total control and the effective purging of his enemies. The Manipulator Vlaew While Lord Vlaew's armies were by no means comparable in size to his opponents, they fought with a great ferocity and unwavering loyalty to his rule. It was the belief that he had a gift of influence over others that made it almost impossible to remove oneself from his service. He was considered the general's general. The Tactician Azrael Lord Azrael's armies were slightly smaller than those of Kfafta and he was in no manner as influential as his brother Vlaew; however he was created as a ruler and a master tactician. If there was a way of turning the tide of victory against an aggressor, Azrael would carry it out effectively. The age-old war continued to rage on between the three remaining Ancients, but the tide had turned in a final assault on Vlaew's royal armies. Azrael, being the master tactician, had realized that the inevitable victory here leading to the eventual confrontation with Kfafta's forces would result in defeat. Kfafta's armies were numerous and the only way for him to be defeated would be to work with Vlaew against the greater enemy. In the wake of the destruction of Vlaew's last bastion, Azrael had his brother captured, but instead of disposing him he asked of him to lead their consolidated armies against the mighty forces of Kfafta. Vlaew had no choice but to agree, and lead Azrael's armies he did. It was the bloodiest battle to have ever been fought and eventually Lord Vlaew plunged his sword deep into the heart of Kfafta. His life force stolen from him, Kfafta crumbled and perished. Vlaew had won complete control of the Earth Realm for Azrael to rule over. However, Lord Azrael had learnt from the history of Ancients before him and had decided to have Vlaew destroyed before he could carry out the inevitable treacherous challenge to his rule. But what he did not count on was the extent of Vlaew's influence on his armies. Azrael was soon deposed from his throne and Vlaew destroyed his corporeal form to assume control of his new consolidated dominion. Emergence of the Exmortis Over many millennia, Lord Vlaew ruled with an iron fist over all sentients. None would dare oppose his word, but in time his power on influence diminished and a faction of lesser beings had his corporeal form destroyed and his ethereal form banished to roam the lands forever as an earth-bound entity. Vlaew diminished greatly in power and was doomed to be unable to physically affect the world around him. However, he still had many followers to which he spiritually combined his life force when they too were stripped of their corporeal form. The legion of Exmortis was born and over the course of millions of years did it grow stronger and work towards regaining the power of influence and totalitarian control of the Earth Realm. The Soul Bearers Over the millions of years following Vlaew's removal, the Earth took on a different look. The grounds turned green and lush with vegetation, while the sky was no longer stained with the blood of the Ancient Dominion War. Strange beasts appeared on the lands and in the oceans, but the most significant of these creatures to emerge was Man. For it seemed that these fragile beings possessed a gift. It was a gift that would grant them with great power over the roaming malevolent demons and spirits of the ancient world. Man was born with a soul. Over many thousands of years, Man destroyed the remaining evil Earth Realm sentients and entities. The scores of entities that had survived the Earth's metamorphosis had been destroyed forever. But unbeknownst to Man, the powerful Exmortis laid dormant, surviving through their strength in numbers and reveling in the wisdom of their Ancient leader, Lord Vlaew. The Hand of Death The blood of five innocent soul bearers, marked with the symbols of the Ancient Vlaew, has the power to bridge the gap between the ethereal plain of existence and the Earth as dominated by man and beast today. The Influenced man shall become the hand; his soul the pathway and the source of strength for the demonic horde. The Book of Exmortis in its original Aramaic form went on to detail the further ritualistic orientation of the link between our world and the spiritual plain described quite frequently as the Ancient Land. I dare not put pen to paper again for the reproduction of the Incantation of the Hand for fear of my tainted soul. Following the tragedy that was my daughter Gwen, I was felt compelled to continue my work looking for an answer to this evil. I spent day after day translating more and more ancient occult texts pertaining to the dark arts which surround these entities. For years I worked through each book of the archaic collection until I came across a precious find. Imagine my surprise when I located a text which could lead to the downfall of the dominion of Exmortis. It was a text that I dared not translate whilst in the captivity of that isolated abode for fear of exposing to them my knowledge of this script titled "Vetus Adversarius." Translated: "The Ancient Adversary" Over time I worked to shake their attention, when I finally broke free. I fled the wilderness and returned to civilization, eventually relocating here to a beautiful Lochear Fields homestead. It was here that I began to unravel the work I was forced to complete for the demonic Exmortis. I had managed to escape with the one text that could aid in my pursuit to right the wrong that I had been an integral part of. Within the pages of the Vetus Adversarius, I had discovered a great many things. Most important of all is that the source of the demon's power was also their weakness. The man who will become the Hand - his soul is the path between the spirit world and our own. Sever the Hand - and the link is broken. From Vetus Adversarius The door was unlocked by the blood of five, protected by the fiends once dead now alive. Circled by blood from the dark ancient rite, the mortal man makes the ultimate sacrifice. A Weapon of Fire takes a fifth for its own, creating a path to where the dark spirits roam. His soul will pass through the ethereal gate, beyond it lies his god-given fate. A Dagger of Faith shall sever the Hand, mortally pierced by the soul-bearing man. The light of the path cut off from the land, reducing the scourge to fire, ash and sand. For many years I have studied this passage from every possible angle. I have noted that the blood of five is once again prominent in creating the link between our physical world and the Spirit Realm. But what of this "mortal man's" ultimate sacrifice? What of this dagger that the passage speaks of? And who is this man that the script references? I can not answer these questions, but I am certain all will become clear when the time is right. All I can do is make available the tools required for our savior to rid the land of this plague when it inevitably comes to be. I know now that this is my purpose in what little years of life I have remaining. Now more than ever, I believe that within our faith, we will find the answer. - The Circle of Life - portal to the Spirit Realm by an act of ultimate sacrifice involving the use of the "Weapon of Fire." Trivia *"Vetus Hostilis Exmortis" is a Latin name and it roughly translates into "Ancient Enemy Exmortis" or "Exmortis: The Ancient Enemy". Category:Ancient Folklore Category:Books